Tag: Recreation and Tourism
Cleveland Metroparks breaks down accessibility barriers with all-terrain wheelchairs
By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
Cleveland Metroparks is expanding access to its trail network for visitors with disabilities. It’s acquired two new wheelchairs – one a motorized Action Trackchair, the other, a manual GRIT Freedom Chair, for use on and off the beaten paths.
White throated sparrow takes first place in fattest bird competition
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Clara Lincolnhol, Great Lakes Echo
A very round white throated sparrow is the heavyweight champion of the 2025 Wisconsin Fat Bird Week contest.
The bird, coined the “spherical white-throated sparrow,” won by a landslide, receiving 72% of the vote in the final round against its nearest competitor, a “rotund ruby-throated hummingbird.”
The winner made it through eight rounds in the single-elimination, March Madness-style bracket competition against seven other birds.
Points North: The Longest Paddle
By Ellie Katz, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
In the summer of 2015, Traci Lynn Martin’s mom was in the final weeks of a battle with cancer.
Everything you need to know about the Biggest Week in American Birding
A fledgling birding festival that hatched 15 years ago has become an international event drawing visitors from around the world to northwest Ohio. While the stars of the show at the Biggest Week in American Birding (BWIAB) are migrating warblers, there are dozens of other species which draw crowds from every state and continent including wading and shore birds, tanagers, songbirds, waterfowl and raptors.
On the importance of dark sky parks
Summer is just around the corner, and for many in the Great Lakes region, the coming season is synonymous with weekends at the beach, camping trips and — if you’re lucky — stargazing. There are many places in the Great Lakes where the skies are dark enough to enjoy the stars and planets overhead, but specific recognition for such places varies by state.